Sword Art Online: Course of the Wind
by KuroiKenshiX
Summary: A tester, and then a player, and now a prisoner. Follow Kazeshi on his dangerous exploration as he attempts to break free from the death game, Sword Art Online. Based off the series by Kawahara Reki. I own only original characters. This story is supposed to correspond with the series, but may break free from it. I am a new writer, so I apologize for any offense or poor quality.
1. Chapter 1: Death Past Red

_There's no way back._ That's all he could think. Just 10 seconds ago, Kayaba Akihiko announced the truth behind Sword Art Online. If a player were to die in this game, they would die in real life through destruction of the brain. Kazeshi stood there, bewildered at the news. Never did he suspect that he and every other SAO player would be put in this position.

1 hour earlier...

"C-can you please teach me?" she said with her head bowed. The girl had approached him when he was out in the field fighting some boars, just outside the Town of Beginnings. Kazeshi stared at her. She wore standard beginner's equipment, the only noticeable difference being the short black cape she wore down her back. She had fair peach-colored skin, brown eyes, had bangs hanging to ear level and wore her black hair to her shoulders.

"Your name?" he replied.

The girl looked up and had a confused look on her face. Then, realizing her mistake, blushed and said, "Oh, sorry. My name is Suku. Nice to meet you."

Kazeshi held out his hand and said, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Kazeshi."

After a moment's hesitation, she took his hand and shook it. "So, um, can you please teach me how to fight effectively?"

_She seems kind of shy_, thought Kazeshi. _Must be her first fulldive._

"Sure, I guess. But why ask me?"

"Well, you looked like you knew what you were doing. You haven't lost much health while out here, and I've seen you fight four of those boars at once. I figured a beginner would find that difficult, but you seemed to beat them with ease." Suku averted her eyes for a second and said, "I've already dropped to the yellow zone after three fights."

Kazeshi went into his inventory and materialized a health potion. He threw it underhanded to Suku and she caught it. "A potion, just in case you drop into the danger zone."

"Th-thanks." Suku stuttered as she put the potion away in her inventory. "Were you by chance in the beta testing for SAO?"

Kazeshi scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I've had more experience than most. But I'll be glad to teach you if you want."

Suku bowed her head again. "Thank you, I'll try my best to learn."

"First off, you don't need to bow your head like that. We're equals, I just have more experience," Kazeshi said with a smile. _Funny_, he thought, _how she considers herself weaker when her handshake actually hurt a little._

Raising her head and blushing again, Suku replied with, "Alright, teacher."

Kazeshi opened up a menu and scrolled to the Social tab. While sending her a party invite, he stated, "And don't call me that either. I hate teachers to begin with, and it makes me sound superior. Just call me Kaz and that's fine."

Hitting the accept button, Suku said, "Okay, uh, Kaz."

Grinning, Kazeshi said, "Ah, much better. Now, I need to see how you fight. You know how to use sword skills, right?"

"Sword skills?"

Kazeshi stared at her, saying nothing.

"Wh-what? Is that bad?"

A few more seconds of silence, and Kazeshi broke out into laughter. "No, that's actually amazing!"

"But, didn't you ask if I knew how to use them?"

Kazeshi finished laughing and said, "The main aspect of this game is the sword skills, yes, but not using them is more impressive because that means you're fighting with your own might. You would probably surpass me easily if you used them."

"R-really? Then, how do I use them?"

"It's easier to show than explain. Let's find some monsters and train."

Half an hour later...

Suku cut a boar in half with a sword skill and sheathed her longsword at her hip. A window opened in front of her, stating the items she had gained and that she had leveled up to level 4. Kazeshi walked towards her, clapping his approval. "Very nice. You're getting the hang of this fairly quickly. People are going to start confusing you for a beta tester soon."

Once again, Suku blushed and said, "You think so?"

"Definitely. So, have you found a shield yet in a drop?"

Suku checked her inventory and scrolled through everything. "No, I haven't found much except for some junk items and ingredients for food and weapons."

Kazeshi lowered his head for a moment, in thought. "...Give me a month from now, and I promise I'll give you a shield that can surpass any drop you can get by then."

Suku stared at him. "Eh? But how?"

Kazeshi smiled. "I've got some ideas. But we should probably log out for today. I'm starting to get a little tired."

"Aw. Do you really have to go? I was just getting used to everything."

_Is this the shy girl from 30 minutes ago? I guess this is what she's like when you get to know her._ "Don't worry, I'll give you a friend request so we can meet up later."

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

"Right, it was nice to meet you, beautiful."(Author's Note: This is a joke as "ut'suku'shi" is Japanese for beautiful.)

"Be-beautiful?" (Author's Note: She doesn't get it.)

Kazeshi turned away and grinned. "Anyway, see you tomorrow."

Still blushing, Suku nodded. "Bye."

Kazeshi opened up the menu and went to the log out option. Or at least, where it should be. "What the hell?"

Suku turned back around. "What is it?"

Kazeshi kept staring at the menu. "The log out, it's gone!"

"What?!" Suku opened up her own menu and checked. "Wh-?! How?! They're practically obligated to put one here, right?!"

After closing the menu, Kazeshi said, "Yeah, it was definitely there during the beta. How could they screw that up? Could there have been a hack or an accident in the coding?"

"If the log out isn't there, then we can't leave this world right?"

"Yeah, our consciousness will be stuck in the characters until the admin force log us out. But I doubt that absolutely no one has tried to log out, so the game masters must know about-" Kazeshi stopped as a bell began to read in the distance. "Is that an announcement bell?" Kazeshi said.

Suku frowned a little, but then they both started to glow blue. "Eh? Kaz? What's going on?"

"Don't worry, I think it's just a forced teleport. We're going for a ride, apparently."

And with that the two teleported to the plaza in the Town of Beginnings, where Akihiko Kayaba made his announcement, and Suku realized how close to death she had been an hour ago.


	2. Chapter 2: Lost in the Panic

After the shock wore off, Kazeshi looked around and saw someone in black and blue running out of the plaza followed by a guy in red and white. _He's got the right idea_, thought Kazeshi. _We need to move or else we'll lose ourselves in the panic that'll happen next._ He turned to Suku, whom he still recognized, as the only difference there was between her avatar and her actual person was that her eyes were blue and her hair was longer, to her shoulder blades. She was a bit shorter than him, maybe 5' 6". She too stood unmoving and silent. "Hey, Suku, wake up. We need get out of here."

Suku snapped back into reality and turned toward him. At first she looked confused, as Kazeshi's avatar was much more different than him. His avatar had had green eyes and gray hair. His actual face was of brown eyes and black hair that stuck up from his head instead of the hanging down version his avatar had. He had peach-colored skin a few shades darker than Suku, and his skin was clear, unlike his avatar which had scars down its face.

"Get out of here? We could die if we keep going! Didn't you hear him? We should stay here! Monsters can't get into a safe zone, right?"

Kazeshi tried to stay calm. He too was on the verge of breaking, but he knew had to keep his cool if he wanted to get the message across to Suku. "Yeah, and if we don't go, we don't get out of this game. You can stay if you want, but I'm leav- Hey!" Someone's elbow hit Kazeshi in the back. The crowd was starting to go insane. He turned back to Suku, but she was already meters away as the sea of people pushed them apart. "Suku!" Kazeshi tried to reach out to her with his hand, but it was futile.

As she was being swept farther and farther away, Suku realized something. "Kaz, you never..." But it got drowned out in yelling from the crowd.

Realizing that he couldn't get to her, Kazeshi yelled back, "I'll meet you after we get out of this chaos! Go!" And with that he turned and charged out of the plaza.

Not until he was outside did he realize what Suku tried to tell him. "Damn it. I never sent her the friend request. If only you could message people by just their name, but you need to be able to select them from something, and I disbanded the party before I tried to log out. If my tracking skill were high enough... no, I'd still need to select them. How the hell am I going to meet her?"

When he couldn't think of any way, he punched a wall in frustration. A figure appeared behind him. "Hey, you okay?" It was a girl, with long orange-brownish chestnut hair and hazel eyes. She looked to be about 15, and Kazeshi couldn't help but admire how she looked like she was able to keep it all together after what just happened.

"Yeah, I guess."

"That news was pretty shaking, wasn't it?"

"That's not what I'm upset about right now."

"Oh? That's interesting. Most people are grieving what might happen to them, and yet you aren't?"

"No. The reason I'm upset is that I told someone I'd meet them. We got separated in the plaza, and I can't think of any way to find them, except for just run around. There are nearly 10,000 people in there, how could I find her without losing myself?"

The girl stared for a moment, then said, "I'll help you look, and we'll meet up someplace in 5 minutes. Tell me what they look like."

Kazeshi thought for a second, but his gut told him she was someone he could trust. "Alright. She's a girl about this high," he said as he put his hand about as high as his eyes, "with black hair hanging past her shoulders, and blue eyes. Her name's Suku. Tell her that Kaz asked you to help find her. We'll meet around here." Kazeshi opened up a map window and put a waypoint at a location around the central market. "There's an arch there that we'll meet at. Try and look around the area on the east of the plaza, and I'll take the west. I'll give you a party invite so that we can message each other. And I'll pay you if we find her."

As he was saying the last sentence, the girl was shaking her head. "I don't want any payment. We all need something to hang onto in these kinds of times." And with that she turned around to leave.

But Kazeshi stopped her. "Wait." The girl turned around. "What's your name?"

"My name? Does it really matter?"

"I like to know those who help me so I know who I owe. My name is Kazeshi."

The girl didn't reply for a few seconds, but then stated, "I'm Asuna, it's nice to meet you, Kaz." And with that she walked away.


	3. Chapter 3: Hoping for the Better

After the five minutes of searching, Kazeshi went to the arch like he had scheduled with Asuna. However, after five minutes of waiting there, he still didn't see her anywhere. Or Suku either...

_Shoot. Something must have happened._ After the thought occurred to him, he received a message from Asuna.

It read: "I found her, but it looks like there could be trouble. We're in an alley and there are some thug players around us. I don't want to have to be the cause of their deaths. Think you can find us and knock them out from behind? Can you see me on the map?"

Kazeshi opened up his map and found where Asuna and Suku were hiding. He marked the location and sent a reply to Asuna saying: "I've got you marked. Just hold out for a little while. Don't any of you die on me."

Following his map, Kazeshi rushed towards his marker and found the alleyway where the girls were located. It was in an abandoned part of town; most of the buildings were charred. _An abandoned section of town? I see. So this doesn't count as a safe zone anymore. That explains why Asuna didn't want to hurt them._ At the mouth of the passageway, he saw a player standing guard. He took out his sword and started walking toward the guard, ready to defend himself if necessary. The guard held up a hand and said, "You're gonna have to stop there, kid. Anything beyond this point is private to our group, understand?"

_Kid, huh?_ This idiot obviously had no clue how dangerous Kazeshi could be when he was angry. "You can either leave now, or you can be thrown to the ground. Your choice." A devilish grin passed on Kazeshi's face to show the guy he was serious. The guard hesitated for a second, but drew his sword anyway. Kazeshi shook his head. "I warned you." With that, he dashed up to the guard, too close for the man to use his longsword effectively and too quick for the man to react. He flipped his hand around and slammed the pommel of the sword into the guard's temple. The guard was sent flying into the wall of the alley, and an "Immortal Object" sign popped up.

Kazeshi stood facing the man. "Don't get up. It'll be easier on you that way."

As the alley turned in a corner, Kazeshi heard voices around on the other side. One voice said, "Come out, girls. We won't hurt ya. We just want to play with you."

_Creeps and thieves, that's all they are. Not fighters. And they are completely underestimating Suku._ He looked around the edge of the wall and saw three men looking through stuff in the alley, trying to find their victims.

Very quietly, Kazeshi sneaked up behind one that was looking behind a wooden box. He grabbed his head and smashed it into the nearby wall. The other two thugs heard the body hit the ground and turned to Kazeshi. "What the hell are you doing here, jerk?!" yelled the one that was most likely the leader. The leader lunged at Kazeshi with the sword. Kazeshi brushed the blade away with his sword and ran into a nearby doorway and closed the door. The two gangsters gave chase, but they barely got past the threshold. The leader turned the knob and pushed the door in. Kazeshi was waiting behind the door and kicked the door so it slammed back into the leader's face, hitting him so that he flew back into the alley on his back, unconscious from the blow to his forehead.

The last guy turned to run, but Kazeshi nailed him in the back of the head with the flat of his sword, and a loud ringing sound lingered in the alley for a while.

"Suku! Asuna! It's me! All those bastards are down!" A moment passed, and then the two girls walked out from behind a dumpster at the end of the alley. "Hey, you guys alright?"

Suku smiled. "Yeah, we're okay, but we may smell a little," she said as she brushed off her clothes.

Asuna walked towards one of the unconscious thugs and knelt next to him. "Think you could have been any less subtle?" she said with a small smile on her face.

Kazeshi frowned and crossed his arms. "Well, excuse me if I was concerned for you two." His mood lightened a little and he said, "Still, good to see you guys are okay. Oh, right! Here, I'll send the friend requests."

A request window popped up in front of Suku and Asuna.

Suku hit accept almost immediately, not wanting to relive what just happened, but Asuna stared at the window. She turned to Kazeshi. "Why me?"

Kazeshi sheathed his sword, and replied, "I told you. I keep track of who I owe. This way I can tell if you're in trouble so I can repay you someday."

Asuna looked back at the window, thought for a second, and hit accept. "Alright. That's fine by me. I should get going now anyway. It was fun, Kaz. Let's meet again sometime on the front lines."

Kazeshi smiled. "You can count on it."

And with that, Asuna walked out of the alley.

After watching her leave, Kazeshi turned back to Suku. He was about to say something, when Suku elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! What was that for?!"

Suku had her cheeks puffed out a little and her face was a little red. She turned away from Kazeshi. "Nothing," and she walked out of the alley.

Kazeshi rubbed his side a little and followed her out. Finally, the two walked to next town and began leveling again.


	4. Chapter 4: Troublesome Seed

_(two weeks after the game started, current front line floor: 1)_

Suku's health dropped below 60% as she was fighting some vipers. The poisonous bites were beginning to affect her. Before another snake could damage her, Kazeshi stabbed the snake with his broadsword and killed it. Suku took her longsword and sliced the last one in half.

With that, they received victory messages, stating the Cor and XP they had earned and that Kazeshi had leveled to level 8. He deposited his skill points into their usual locations, and then opened his inventory. He spawned a bottle filled with yellow liquid and gave it to Suku. "An antidote to get rid of the venom effects. Careful, that's my last one."

Suku nodded and drank it. "These enemies are getting a bit harder, huh?"

Kazeshi thought it over for a second. "I'm guessing it's because we're close to a dungeon, or somewhere not recommended for low-levels. Speaking of low-levels…" Kazeshi glanced at the sword hanging from Suku's waist. "Why do you still use the newbie sword?" Suku's attire had changed a little bit, or at least as much as it could on the starting floor, and she now had a round, wooden buckler, but her main weapon hadn't changed. Kazeshi was the opposite, having kept most of the clothes he had begun with, but he always changed to a different two-handed sword whenever he found one.

Suku drew her sword out and swung it experimentally. "I've looked at other weapons. It isn't really anything to do with stats. This just feels more natural, I guess."

_Understandable,_ Kazeshi thought. _A weapon-user has to be used to the weapon of their choice._ "So you prefer one-handed longswords?"

"Yeah, this one's felt the most balanced out of all of the others I've tried so far." Suku considered her preferences. "Rapiers seem too light for me, katana are mostly single-edged and are used mainly for slicing, and I don't want a spear or mace."

Kazeshi nodded as she explained her positioning. "Well, hopefully we can find something better before we find the boss room. Wouldn't want to go into a fight with poor equipment. Not that it would matter for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm fairly certain that anyone would run in terror from you, even if you had just your fists and a shirt."

Suku stared for a second, then noticed something Kazeshi had said. _…just your fists and a shirt._ "Just a shirt, huh?" Her grip tightened and she brought her sword up for an overhead swing. "What are you imagining?!"

Kazeshi blinked, realized his mistake, then began running to the nearest town with Suku immediately behind him. "Wait, Suku! I didn't mean it like that! You would have other stuff on! Not that you wouldn't look good in just a shir-" _What am I saying! Do I want to die?!_

"Get back here, pervert!"

Just as he passed the town boundary, Kazeshi tripped on a root and fell to the ground. Suku was over him in a second and had her sword pointed down at Kazeshi. She couldn't kill him in a safe zone, but it would still sting. Before she was able to plunge the sword home, an old man walked up to the two. "Greetings, young lady and gentleman. I'm the village elder here in Horunka Village, and I would like to ask for your assistance."

Suku moved from her position over Kazeshi and went to the elder. "A quest?"

Kazeshi, still on the ground, squinted at the elder. "Lady?"

Suku turned and glared at Kazeshi.

_If looks could kill…_ Kazeshi got off the ground and dusted himself off. He moved next to Suku and questioned the elder. "What do you need us to do, old man?"

The elder smiled, happy to find someone who might lend assistance. "We've been having a small sickness travel through this village. We have discovered a formula for the cure, but the ingredients are practically impossible to obtain. One ingredient is a Nepent Seed. If we could get this, we could make a cure and duplicate it. Now, will you help us?"

The quest window popped in front of Kazeshi and Suku. Suku turned to Kazeshi. "Should we?"

Kazeshi's eyes scanned the window until he got to the Rewards section. 'A new weapon' was listed, and then Kazeshi found the recommendations area, which stated that a level of 9 was the suggested level for completion. _This normally only pertains to solo players, so this should be a walk in the park for us._ Kazeshi nodded and was about to hit the accept button.

"Oh, there's one more thing I believe I should mention. There's a legend about Horunka Forest. One path out is only available when a leader is at their most determined," said the elder.

Kazeshi stopped his hand from accepting. He was the party leader, which meant this was dependable on his resolve for the mission. _I want to see what this new weapon is, don't I? If it is a longsword, I want Suku to have it so she'll be better backup. There's no way my determination can be low._ He hit the accept button.

The elder bowed. "Thank you for lending us your help. I promise you will be substantially rewarded. You'll find the Nepent seed in the forest near this town. I wish you the best of luck." The old man walked away towards the center of town.

Suku looked at Kazeshi. "You sure seemed like you wanted to hit that accept button fast."

Grinning, Kazeshi said, "We just have to find a seed. Shouldn't be that tough." At least, that's what he thought.

_At the entrance to Horunka Forest…_

The two walked into the dark forest. Suku pressed her hand up against a barrier of trees. "The trees in here make solid walls. There's nearly no space between the trunks. Looks like we're only allowed to walk on the given paths."

Kazeshi examined the forest surrounding him. The sky wasn't even visible through the canopy. "There's a small chance this is true, but maybe there's another quest in that village that gives us a map for this place. It's not uncommon in RPG games for there to be linked quests. Let's go back and look around."

Suku nodded. "Yeah. It's better if we play it safe, especially in this death game." The two turned around to leave the forest, but as they walked down the road to leave, enormous trees burst out of the ground and cut off the path.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Kazeshi put his palm to his forehead. He lowered his hand and walked up to the trees. He drew his sword and experimented the toughness of the trees. His broadsword didn't even break the bark. "Well, crap!" Turning back to Suku, he said, "Looks like this is a one-time thing. You go in, you finish the quest, or you can't leave."

Suku smiled and gave him the thumbs-up. "We'll be fine. I think I know you enough to know that you won't let a party member die."

Kazeshi couldn't help but grin back. He was happy she had that much trust in him. _But…_ He looked up at the trees. He had never been to Horunka Town during the beta. Nor had he ever accepted this quest. And the ominous aura of the forest was giving him a bad feeling. _A place that just closes up and leaves the players for dead? That's too unfair. That old man's legend must be true. And if it is true_, thought Kazeshi, _then we shouldn't have a problem._ "Let's get this over with."


	5. Chapter 5: Venom Overdose

The pair searched the maze of a forest for at least an hour, but they couldn't find an exit. All they had done is fight wolves and snakes, and repeatedly find themselves at the same intersections and turns. As they came to another familiar looking fork, Kazeshi stopped and rubbed his temples. "This can't be right! We've been here thousands of times, and we've tried all combinations of paths! This place has more routes than a harem galge!"

Suku was trying to act calm, but the vein sticking out of her neck said otherwise. "We'll just have to try again." As she went down one of the paths, she turned a corner. Kazeshi couldn't see her anymore and so began to follow her.

He turned the corner and said to Suku, "I'm just saying, there should be a pattern but I can't understand it."

Suku turned around to yell something at him, probably to stop complaining. But as she did, a giant shadow struck out from the surrounding trees. It wrapped around her, not nearly crushing her as its slim body wasn't thick enough, but still immobilizing her. It was a giant black mamba, with a length of at least thirty-five feet. Kazeshi had encountered these on higher floors, but it did make a rare appearance on floor one.

Struggling against the snake, Suku swore, drew her sword and swiped at the snake. The blade slashed into the mamba's nose and made the creature recoil in pain, but it didn't let Suku go. Kazeshi attempted to stab his sword into the snake's body, but the monster forced Kazeshi to jump back by swinging its tail and nearly knocking him off his feet. The mamba then tried to bite Suku, which she blocked with her sword. The blade became stuck in the mamba's jaw, and the snake was able to wrestle the sword out of Suku's grip.

The pressure from the snake's jaw was too much, and the blade snapped into pieces. It then spit out the pieces and turned back to Suku. Kazeshi began to rush the snake again, but he was too late. The mamba opened its mouth and dug its fangs into Suku's shoulder. Suku screamed in pain as the teeth dug deeper and deeper into her flesh and her health fell from her max at 800 to 650.

"Suku!" Kazeshi reached the monster and cut its head off, which was still biting Suku's shoulder. The body began to thrash and loosened around Suku, which thankfully allowed Kazeshi to pull her out of the coil. He took her body away from the decapitated body of the snake and began working on pulling the mamba's jaw.

As the snake's head grew closer to death, Kazeshi was able to pull the fangs out of its victim. He stabbed his blade through the snake's head to be sure that it was dead, then knelt next to Suku to examine her wound. The bite marks were glowing green, a sign of a poisoned status. Kazeshi looked through his inventory for an antidote, but he remembered that he gave Suku his last one a few hours ago, before they had accepted the quest.

Suku was in a comatose state. She had lost consciousness, couldn't breathe well, and was having random spasms. _The game masters put in actual symptoms. Damn you, Kayaba,_ thought Kazeshi.

Suku woke up eventually, but was too weak to move by herself. She began to froth at the mouth, so Kazeshi turned her on her side so she didn't choke on her own saliva. She turned her head to face Kazeshi and attempted to smile through her pain. Through her gasps for breath, she said, "Sorry… I should've… paid more attention."

"Suku, don't talk like that. I'm getting you out of here."

Suku kept up her smile. "Even if you do find the exit, I'll probably be dead before that. You'll only waste your time if you carry me around with you." As she said it, she began to lose consciousness. Kazeshi let her fall asleep; she still had some health left so she wouldn't die yet.

Her health, now at 550, was decreasing, one point for every two seconds, like a dripping faucet. Kazeshi wanted to block it all out. She was dying in his arms, and he couldn't help her. Tears began to blur his vision and he clenched his fists. He stood up from Suku's body and started scanning the nearest wall of trees. When he couldn't find anything, he let the tears fall. _No! No!_ Kazeshi thought. _I!_ He punched a tree. _Will not! _He punched again. _Let her! _Again. _Die! _Again. _Because! _Again. _Of me!_

This time, instead of hitting the tree, his fist phased through it and the tree disappeared. Behind it lied a dirt road. _One path out is only available when a leader is at their most determined._ Was this what the elder meant? The one path out of here?

Kazeshi ran back to Suku and picked her up, holding her knees and back with his arms. _I get it now,_ thought Kazeshi as he ran down the path. _What it is I'm determined about is…_


	6. Chapter 6: My Reason

Holding the poisoned Suku close to him, Kazeshi ran down the forest road. Dusk was beginning to fall when the path eventually opened up to a clearing. The only things Kazeshi could see were an exit on the opposite side of the clearing, and a huge, budded flower in front of it.

He began to move toward the exit, but as he did, the flower began to wiggle. Giant roots began to erupt from the ground around the flower, then the flower started rising up and unfolding. The edge of the petals had teeth and in the core was a mouth with a half dozen tendrils around it. Vines grew from the stem of the plants and they too grew mouths. A message popped up next to the two-story monster that said "Little Nepent".

_Nothing 'little' about that._ Kazeshi narrowed his eyes. "I get it. I can't get past unless I kill you and finish the quest. Fine. You're dead." He placed Suku against a tree, away far enough so she wouldn't be in Little Nepent's attack range.

Suku began to wake up again and she saw Kazeshi open a window. A message popped in front of her that said "Party disbanded". She looked up at Kazeshi, who was walking toward Little Nepent. "Kaz," whispered Suku.

Kazeshi unsheathed his broadsword. "If we're in a party, you'll be a target in any fight I'm in." He began walking toward Little Nepent. "When I accepted that quest, the thing I thought I was most determined to do was to make you stronger so you could be better backup. Then the mamba appeared. Now I've realized my reason. I wanted you to be stronger, but not so you could back me up more. It was because I wanted you to be safer. I forced you to come with me on day one. I accepted this quest without consulting you. I'm why you're in such a bad state. And to make up for that, I'm getting you out of here. Not just this forest, but this game. I'll protect you. I promise."

Suku was beginning to pass out again. "I'll follow you anywhere. Because you're my teacher… my leader… my friend, Kaz." Suku's health began to hit red at 200 as she fell unconscious.

_At this rate, she'll be gone in six and a half minutes,_ Kazeshi calculated. _It took about three minutes to get here. It'll take about four carrying her. I'll end this in two._

Little Nepent shot a vine tentacle at Kazeshi. Kazeshi brought his sword up and split the vine in half, which caused Little Nepent to scream as it withdrew its tentacle back. Eager to get the fight over with, Kazeshi dashed up to Little Nepent before the plant could react and cut off one of its petals. Chlorophyll began to seep out of the monster's wounds.

"Thirty." As Kazeshi counted out the seconds, the plant monster's roots began to dig deeper into the ground and began pumping water into the beast. The health bar on Little Nepent began to refill steadily as it underwent photosynthesis.

Attempting to make the healing ineffective, Kazeshi tried to cut off roots connected to Little Nepent. However, the roots were too thick and Kazeshi's broadsword got stuck midway in one root. Kazeshi tried to rip his sword free, but that left him too vulnerable and one of Little Nepent's vines wrapped around Kazeshi's right leg and pulled him into the air. Another vine got hold of Kazeshi's left wrist and the two began pulling.

_They're trying to split me at the waist!_ Kazeshi felt like his spine was about to give. Hurriedly, he used his right hand to open his game menu and scrolled to find his inventory. He found a sword stronger than the one he was currently using called Bloody Claymore. He was originally planning to use it on the front lines, but if the situation were to become this dire, he'd have no choice. He equipped it. The one sword stuck in the Nepent root went back in his inventory as the heavier sword appeared in his right hand. "You know, it's rude to play with your food!" He slashed the vine at his left hand and began swinging toward the vine at his ankle. He swung his sword again and landed on the ground. "Ninety."

Kazeshi held his claymore in one hand and had his other hand brushing against the flat near the end. The blade began to glow with the hint of a sword skill. "Twice Vertical." Kazeshi moved so fast, he practically teleported in front of Little Nepent's base. He blasted into the air, as he slashed halfway through Little Nepent, leaving the front split apart. When he came back down, he cut the rest of the way through, making Little Nepent's two halves fall apart.

A seed was in the middle of what used to be the base of Little Nepent. Kazeshi picked it up and said, "One-twenty." With that he ran back to Suku's side, and saw that her health was now at 140. _Alright, I can make it_. He picked Suku up and ran out the exit.

_Midnight, Horunka Village…_

Suku woke up in a bed at the inn in Horunka Village. She was having a hard time remembering what had happened. Then she saw Kazeshi asleep in a chair next to her bed. She remembered one thing for sure. _I'll protect you. I promise._ With that, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

_7:30, Horunka Village…_

Kazeshi rubbed his eyes as he woke up. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Suku's bed. But no Suku…

Kazeshi jumped up from his chair and looked around, hoping to see her walking around, but she wasn't in the room he had rented at the inn. He ran downstairs and saw her sitting at a table eating some fried rice. Suku smiled when she saw him. "Good morning, oh brave knight. No one's awake yet, so we can have all the food we can- hey!"

Suku was cut off as Kazeshi ran up and hugged her; happy to see she hadn't passed on in the middle of the night. "Thank goodness. You scared me."

Suku sat, feeling embarrassed that Kazeshi was hugging her, but she put her arms around him and returned the embrace. "Sorry, I'm not going anywhere yet."

Kazeshi couldn't help but chuckle for a second as he sat across from Suku, remembering something he realized that Suku probably didn't. Suku was confused now. "What's so funny?"

Thinking back, trying to get it word for word, Kazeshi said, "You said, 'I'll follow you anywhere,' to me when you were poisoned."

Then it came back to her. That exact moment when she had said that. Suku began to blush. "I… said that?"

Kazeshi nodded. "Well, it was probably because of the poison but- um, Suku, what are you doing?"

Suku had instinctively reached for the fork she was using raised it up over Kazeshi's hand. Then she brought it down and the spokes entered Kazeshi's hand. "AAAAAAAHH!" Kazeshi nursed his now swollen hand. "Alright, I deserve that for bringing that up. Oh, by the way, I turned in that quest last night after I brought you here."

This caught Suku's interest, as she hadn't seen anything in her inventory change from before the quest, except that she now had no weapons at all. Then she remembered that Kazeshi had disbanded the party. She brought the fork up again.

"AAAAAAAHH!" Kazeshi was thankful they were in a safe zone; otherwise he probably would have lost most of his health. "And what was that one for?!"

Suku turned away from Kazeshi and crossed her arms over her chest. "For disbanding the party. I would have been fine if you used me as a decoy for that plant monster."

Kazeshi averted his gaze from her. "Well, I wouldn't have."

At that, Suku turned back to Kazeshi, and started to feel bad for stabbing him with her utensil. "… Sorry. But anyway, it looks like I'm going to have to settle with using a katana or something now."

Kazeshi grinned. "Ah, but that's the thing, Suku. The 'new weapon' that was mentioned in the quest," Kazeshi put a bundle wrapped in cloth on the table. "… was this beauty."

As Suku ran her hand over the package, she said, "So you got a new weapon?"

Shaking his head, Kazeshi said, "Nope. You got a new weapon. Unwrap it."

Suku's hands began working the ropes and cloth off the weapon. When all the wrapping was off, she could see it was a sword, and then the message popped up next to it. The window showed all of the stats, but the main point of interest was "Anneal Blade, one-handed weapon." Suku picked up the sword and experimentally swung it. A grin lit up her face. "It IS a beauty."

Kazeshi smiled back. "Be sure to take care of it. You only get one, so if it breaks, you may be screwed."

Suku turned to him. "I'll treasure it, Kaz. Thanks… for everything." After saying it, she blushed and ran out the door.

Kazeshi stood up from the table and ran after her. _Did I mean it? Do I really want to protect her?_ He thought back to when she smiled at her new blade. _Yeah, I think I do._


	7. Chapter 7: Scales and Claws

_(three weeks after the game started, current front line floor: 1)_

Kazeshi and Suku walked around a grassy field, mapping out the paths and landmarks. There was something bothering Suku since last week, but she hadn't bothered to ask Kazeshi yet. "Hey, you told me that that black mamba from a week ago was super-rare, right?"

Remembering the horrible experience, Kazeshi nodded.

"If that's true, are there any others we should worry about?"

Kazeshi went through the monster list he had memorized. "None that are that dangerous. You have to be extremely lucky, or rather unlucky, to run into something that powerful. Although, being in a party makes the chances of stronger enemies appearing higher. You can use the Switch maneuver and give your team a bigger advantage, but most solo-ers isolate themselves to avoid hazardous enemies. Any others that were in the beta had high endurance, but thankfully were weaker than that mamba. Of course, I don't know much about the complete version. Kayaba may have added a few more ugly surprises for us."

Suku was surprised at how much Kazeshi seemed to know about the game mechanics. "Do you play these types of games often, cause you certainly know more than the average player."

After hesitating for a moment, Kazeshi responded, "I frequent RPGs and MMOs, and these types of patterns are pretty common. I also researched the game a little with others who fought in parties. Everything matches up, so that's the algorithm we think fits."

That few seconds of hesitation made Suku a little suspicious. _Oh well,_ she thought. _He'll share with me when he feels like it._ "So, where are we headed?"

Kazeshi put his attention back to the map. "So far, we've mainly been doing side quests and things like that to power ourselves up. I thought that maybe we could try the dungeon, now that we've become fairly decent."

"You sure?"

Smiling, Kazeshi replied, "Yeah. I think I know you enough to know that you won't let a party member die." Suku stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing." They continued to the dungeon, as Suku smiled to herself again.

_Floor 1 Dungeon Entrance…_

"What is that?" Kazeshi stood with his arms crossed, examining the entrance to the first floor dungeon. In the doorway to the dungeon, a gigantic turtle shell was blocking the way. The shell was just big enough so that a person couldn't enter the dungeon on either side of it. Painted over the shell were intricate red designs that resembled flames.

Suku stepped closer to it. "You haven't seen anything like this before?"

"Careful," Kazeshi warned. "I don't know what that is, and I'm not risking anyone standing next to it until I can figure it out." He scrolled through the monsters list he compiled. "There was an enemy back in the beta that was pretty much a giant snapping turtle, but it didn't have that kind of design on it. In other words, those are significant in some way or form. We'll flank it to inspect it." Kazeshi drew Bloody Claymore. Ever since the fight with Little Nepent, he had decided to keep the blade as a primary choice.

Suku unsheathed her Anneal Blade and went around the left side of the shell, with Kazeshi going around the opposite. The shell didn't respond at all to their tactics. Realizing she was risking her hand, Suku approached the shell and traced a small segment of the design with her hand.

Suddenly, the markings on the shell began to glow and the shell began shaking. Flames erupted out of the holes in the shell. "Get back, Suku!" Kazeshi moved so he was face to face with the shell. After nearly having her clothes catch fire, Suku ran to Kazeshi's side.

The creature inside the shell began to awaken and emerged from the shell. The body of the monster did resemble a turtle, having four limbs and a tail that were outside the shell, but the head was more snake-like than turtle. It had a snout that protruded from the face and had sharp teeth. Small embers floated out of the nostrils.

Kazeshi sighed. "They put in a dragon turtle? Seriously?"

Suku kept her eye on the monster. "This wasn't in the beta?"

Kazeshi shook his head.

"Do you know anything about it?"

Trying to remember any details, Kazeshi said, "It's a mythical Chinese creature. The combination of an Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise, which are two of the four mythical creatures in the Chinese constellations, the others being the Vermillion Bird and White Tiger. Thank goodness there's no mythical combination of those two, heh heh… oh, crap." As Kazeshi was speaking, he was beginning to hear a roar and looked up. Circling over them was a tiger with wings and talons. "And since there wasn't one, they made one. Well played, Kayaba. I'm SO killing that guy!"

The Tiger Bird landed on top of the Dragon Turtle's shell and let out a shriek (more evidence of its half-bird build). Suku examined the enemy data that was open to them. "They're both about our level. Which one do you want?"

Once again, Kazeshi shook his head. "It's a bad idea to split up. My guess is that the two are linked in some way, so if one of us drags one of them too far away, it'll turn around and both will be attacking the other person. I'm better for defense since I have the thicker blade, so you try to deal some damage."

"Right."

Kazeshi charged at the two enemies. The Tiger Bird flew towards Kazeshi and extended its talons. The claws were deflected off Kazeshi's blade. "Switch!" Suku took a swing at the incoming Tiger Bird. Caught off-guard, the creature tried to dodge, but Suku's Anneal Blade caught the animal at the top of a claw and severed it from the leg. The Tiger Bird roared in pain.

Kazeshi took Bloody Claymore and tried to overhead cut the Dragon Turtle, but the head withdrew into the shell and Kazeshi's claymore met the shell with a ring. The vibrations sent up his arms stunned Kazeshi and the Dragon Turtle's head emerged as the design glowed again and it blasted Kazeshi with a fireball. He was sent flying back and landed on Suku. "Ouch."

The two stood back up and quickly examined the situation. "I'm thinking that the Dragon Turtle is the most dangerous. It's too protective so we can't get a hit in," Kazeshi explained.

Suku nodded. "So, should we deal with the griffin-wannabe?"

Kazeshi grinned. "We should. You distract him, and I'll kill it."

The Tiger Bird was eager to avenge its claw and blasted towards Suku. "Looks like it won't need much convincing." Suku charged at the beast, but just as the two were to clash, Suku jumped, landed on the creature's back, then kicked off, forcing it even lower to the ground, and just within the reach of Kazeshi's sword. Kazeshi swung as the beast flew by and cut the animal in half, turning it into polygonal fragments.

"One down. And I've got an idea for the last one. The only time the head is out of the shell is when the mouth opens." Kazeshi turned his head to look at Suku. "You catch my drift?"

Suku nodded. They dashed around the Dragon Turtle and began to stab the legs. The legs withdrew, and as the monster brought out its head to roar in pain, Kazeshi and Suku moved to its head and stabbed it in the eyes. The creature's health bar slowed dropped as the swords twisted in its skull. Eventually, the Dragon Turtle disappeared and the victory windows for Kazeshi and Suku appeared. "That seemed a bit easy, didn't it?" Suku questioned.

"Don't forget, we're still on floor one. Nothing should be too difficult for us, yet." Kazeshi was scanning the window, and found two interesting items: a Turtle Shell and Hawk Talon. _These could be useful_. Kazeshi added the items to his inventory, then faced Suku. "You ready to move on?"


	8. Chapter 8: Preparations Complete

(one month after the game started, current front line floor: 1)

_In the town of Tolbana…_

Suku was pacing around the room she had rented at the inn. Kazeshi sat in a chair, his elbow on his knee and his hand supporting his chin, watching her move back and forth. Eventually, Suku spoke. "This is taking too long."

Kazeshi nodded his head. She was, of course, referring to the length of time in which the clearing of the first floor was taking.

"Shouldn't someone have found the boss room by now?" Suku was starting to worry. Already, around two thousand of the original ten thousand players had died in-game. All resources, such as currency, XP, and equipment, were starting to dry up from floor one. Soon, if the boss room were never found, they'd never clear floor one, let alone the entire hundred.

After considering a lot of possible locations and situations, Kazeshi had come to a few conclusions. "It's possible that the boss room has been discovered, but no one has come back from finding it alive."

Suku turned her head towards him. "Thanks for that happy note."

Kazeshi raised his hands. "I'm just saying that that could be a possibility. It's recommended that a player be at least 10 levels higher than the number of the current floor. Not to face the boss, but to survive long enough to find it."

Suku began to pace again, and Kazeshi could understand why. The feeling was similar to claustrophobia. Nowhere else to go, even when you want to.

Kazeshi stood up and put his hand on the doorknob. "Where are you going?" Suku asked.

As he turned the knob, Kazeshi said, "I'm gonna go eat something. Watching you move back and forth is making me work up an appetite." He left Suku to her pacing.

Kazeshi walked down to the restaurant on the first floor of the inn. The cook NPC turned to him and asked what he wanted. A window popped in front of Kazeshi that showed a list of meals available. Kazeshi picked his favorite, the steak and potatoes. The Cor required left his account and he sat down to eat. He put his hands together and said, "Thank you for the meal." _Not like you deserve it, Kayaba, you bastard._

He dipped his spoon into the mashed potatoes and was about to eat the food when a message notification appeared in front of his food. "Not a moment's rest." He popped the message that read:

_To all players currently in the town of Tolbana, please meet in the theater at XX:XX time. There is an announcement we would like to make. From FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD: Diabel_

"Wow. What a chain mail." Kazeshi laughed. "Well, at least I have time to eat first."

As he once again brought the utensil to his mouth, Suku ran down the stairs and sat down across from him. "Did you get that message? Oh, steak!" Suku materialized a fork and knife and began to work at the steak.

_No manners at all, huh._ Kazeshi shook his head. "Yeah, I got it."

"What do you think?"

Kazeshi considered it. "It's either important, or someone's gone insane. My money's on important though. He gave the message to a few people and made it spread over hundreds. A bit too far for a practical joke." He moved his fork towards his steak to find it gone. Suku was wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Thanks…"

Suku, ignoring him, said, "You think someone found the boss room?"

Kazeshi put his napkin on the plate, and it disappeared. "That would be the most important news, wouldn't it?"

After thinking for a while, Suku said, "If it's true, what do you know about the boss?"

It's not like the information was top secret anymore, but Kazeshi still felt uncomfortable about revealing it. "In the beta, the first boss was called Illfang the Kobold Lord. He's this big brute with an ax and a shield. The attack pattern is fairly simple, just deflect and slash. He has some minions that help protect his flank, so multiple players are needed. But he gets faster at low health when he switches to a talwar. With so few beta testers and a death penalty, we're going to have to be careful."

Suku digested this information (and the steak). Kazeshi was suspicious about the 2000 that died. That was twice as many people as there were beta testers. _If there were beta testers who did find the boss room, but didn't make it back, was it possible that…?_

A hand on his shoulder interrupted Kazeshi's thoughts. Suku looked down at him with a concerned expression. "You alright? You look kind of pale."

The possibility he was imagining was making Kazeshi nervous. Kazeshi shook his head. "I'm fine," he said as he stood up from his chair. "Come on. We should head to the meeting."

_XX:XX time, Theater in Tolbana_

The meeting ended with fairly decent results. Diabel, the host of the conference, seemed to inspire the other players and give them hope. The only downside to everything was some jackass named Kibaou tried to pin the 2000 deaths on the beta testers. _If what I thought was true, then you don't know the half of it, moron,_ thought Kazeshi.

Everyone was put into parties, and then the parties were merged into a group, A through G, which would focus on separate tasks when facing the boss. Kazeshi and Suku were put into Group F, a Ruin Kobold Sentinel distraction team. After some debate, Kazeshi elected that Suku be placed as the group leader, much to her surprise. She expected him to be leader, if anything. Everyone was fine with the decision, so she was promoted to it.

"Why did you do that?!" Suku questioned Kazeshi. "I'm not leader material!"

Kazeshi shrugged. Honestly, it didn't matter to him. But he would prefer someone he trusted as leader. "Maybe not, but you're most likely the best player in the group. Besides, you don't necessarily have to command anything. Our job is just to defend the main groups. If you show them that you can still fight, then it shows them they can too."

"Well, if it's so easy then why didn't you volunteer?"

He couldn't tell her the real reason, so he lied, saying, "I'm not exactly the friendly type. I don't like others remembering my face."

Suku was about to say that they were in a game, so their faces weren't real. But she remembered that the NerveGear had downloaded their real bodies into the game. "Oh, I see. Then why were you so informal with me when we first met?"

Realizing her logic, Kazeshi tried to not look embarrassed and muttered, "'Cause you…"

She leaned in to hear the rest of his sentence. "I'm sorry? 'Cause I what?"

Kazeshi inhaled deeply. "'Cause you were cute."

After hearing that, Suku started to blush. "…O-oh." And with that, the two walked back to their inn in silence.


	9. Chapter 9: Deals and Midnight Meetings

(one month after the game started, current front line floor: 1)

_Nighttime, the Town of Tolbana…_

Kazeshi and Suku arrived back at their inn and went up to their room. It was getting late, and the two were about to turn in for the night. Tomorrow was the day the players stormed the first floor boss room, so the two needed their rest.

Suku opened the door to the room and said, "I'm going to change. Don't peek or I'll turn you into a shish kebab." Her hand went to her sword hilt for emphasis.

Kazeshi grinned and raised his hands as if surrendering. "Right, right, I got it. I'll wait out here."

Suku narrowed her eyes. She could never understand this guy's personality. He could be unbelievably serious at one time and crack jokes a few seconds later. She, very slowly, closed the door.

Since he didn't have anything to do, Kazeshi turned towards the window at the end of the hallway. It was a decent view, looking down over the plaza from the 3rd floor of their inn. The area was brighter than usual, and Kazeshi couldn't help but compare the light of the place to everyone's hopes. A few hours ago, no one would have told you that floor one was almost behind them. Now, everyone was anxious to get going, with one percent of the way done to having their lives back.

Kazeshi sighed. _Well, maybe their lives are returning to them. Mine is never coming back,_ he thought. He was about to turn around and head back down to the restaurant to get dessert. The apple pie was supposed to be good, and he'd never tried it.

But mid-turn, he noticed someone moving around the outside of the plaza, sticking close to the shadows. The person was hooded, but he knew who it was. The way they walked, with elegance and poise, even though they were trying to stay unnoticed.

_Of course, you'd be here,_ Kazeshi thought. _You said we'd see each other here._ He turned around, walked down the stairs and exited the inn.

Suku sat on the bed after changing. The outfit she slept in was just a sweatshirt and pants, nothing she'd be embarrassed being seen in. _Besides,_ she thought,_ it'd be too weird sleeping in the same room as Kazeshi and being seen wearing something as feminine as a nightgown or something like that. Well… maybe later…_ She shook her head. That "you were cute" remark was starting to get to her. _Idiot! What are you thinking?! It's not like this is all real!_ She sighed. _I've read too many romance novels._

She got up and was about to reach for the door handle when she got a message. It was from Kazeshi and read: _I'm going to go check on something. I'll be back a bit late. –Kazeshi_

He always signed the message at the end, even though the message revealed who it was from. Suku found it kind of cute, as it made the message seem more personal. She turned to go lay down on the bed, when there was a knock at the door.

Suku faced the door. "Who is it?"

A surprising voice replied, "It's Diabel, from the meeting this afternoon. May I speak with you?"

_What is this guy doing here?_ "Just a sec." Suku opened her inventory and equipped her sword. _Have a way to defend yourself_. It was a rule her parents had drilled into her when she had entered high school. Not like they'd approve of her sleeping in the same room with a guy, anyway.

She opened the door enough to peek her head out through it. "Yes?"

Diabel bowed, and said, "I'm sorry to intrude. I heard you were one of the group leaders assigned today."

Suku nodded. "Yeah, group F."

"Right," Diabel stated. "So I was wondering if your equipment was up for it."

"… I'm sorry?" Suku questioned.

Diabel rubbed the back of his head. "You see, the group members look towards a leader who has some of the best equipment. Otherwise, no offense, they can see the leader as kind of a joke."

"… Uh-huh." Suku started to think the guy had some nerve, visiting at night, mainly to inspect and ridicule her weaponry. "And your point?"

Diabel fished through his inventory. "I'm willing to trade you your current sword for a large bag of Cor. This way you could have better weapons and armor so you'll be more prepared for tomorrow. What do you say?" A brown sack materialized in Diabel's hand, making a metallic sound as it rested in his palm.

Seeing the bag of money, Suku was kind of taken aback. She could buy a new sword and a whole set of iron armor with that. A big improvement over her current lame leather armor. _And yet…_ Her hand rested on the hilt of her Anneal Blade. _The things we went through to get this…_

She thought back to when she and Kazeshi had gone to Horunka Town, and found the village elder, who asked them to find the seed that could save their village from sickness. She thought back to the wandering they had undergone in the forest and the surprise attack by the snake that had nearly killed her. She thought back to when Kazeshi had stood between her and Little Nepent, staring the monster down as he told her, "I'll protect you. I promise."

After the brief flashbacks, she shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm good with what I have."

Diabel's eyes very faintly narrowed. "You sure?"

Suku nodded. "I'm sure. I'll see you on the front lines tomorrow."

Diabel bowed in return. "Yes. Let's hope for a swift victory." He walked down the stairs, out of Suku's sight.

Using his new tracking skill, Kazeshi followed the footprints of the hooded figure. Eventually, he came to a secluded pathway, with a small planter in the middle. And sitting on the stone wall of the planter was the hooded person. He noticed how the lights from the plaza made the shadows in the area lengthen until they covered the entire ground.

"It's been a while," Kazeshi said towards the figure.

The individual turned towards Kazeshi, and he recognized the hazel eyes. "Hey, Kaz. Should have known you were here." Asuna moved her hood back a little so more of her face showed.

Kazeshi moved toward her and motioned to a spot next to Asuna. "May I?"

Asuna nodded and Kazeshi sat down. "Quite a day, huh?" Kazeshi said.

Asuna turned her head up and smiled. "Yeah, and tomorrow's going to be quite a day as well." She faced Kazeshi. "I heard Suku's going to be the leader for your group tomorrow. Think she can pull it off?"

Nodding his head almost immediately, Kazeshi said, "Of course. She's the best player out of the group. No one else could do better."

"You really trust her, don't you?"

Kazeshi thought a little before replying. "With my life."

Asuna couldn't help but grin. "You two have a great relationship. Promise me you'll protect her if something goes wrong tomorrow."

The irony made Kazeshi laugh a little. "I already made that promise, so I'm fine making it again." He stuck his hand out to Asuna. Thinking it was a kind of deal-making handshake, Asuna moved her hand toward his. But when her hand almost touched his, a loaf of bread materialized in Kazeshi's hand. He stood up and tossed it to Asuna. "A thank you, for helping protect her." Kazeshi turned back toward the inn. "See you tomorrow, Little Red Riding Hood."

Asuna fingered her red cloak. "Hey, it looked good with this outfit."

Kazeshi chuckled and walked away, and as he turned the corner, he heard her voice behind him say, "Is this stale?"

He turned and yelled back, "First floor food rations for you, Asuna! We win tomorrow and there are more delectable treats to follow!"

As Kazeshi made his way back to the inn, he noticed a slightly disappointed Diabel walking back from it. _What's up with him?_ Kazeshi wondered. _Looks like he missed a quality drop._ He shrugged and walked up to his room.

* * *

Hey, guys. I finally figured out how to leave notes. Re-did this three times trying to figure it out. Anyway, thank you for at least giving my story a chance, and for those dedicated readers, thank you for giving my series your time. As of now, the series is moving kind of slowly. I was able to put the first seven chapters up all at once since I typed them over the summer and just started posting. I'm trying to get a new chapter out weekly now, or at least monthly. As stated before, I'm trying to have this story correspond with the anime series and some of the manga, but it may break free from that area and move out on its own. I may move slowly when it comes to finishing this series due to my bad habit of thinking ahead to the sequel. Well, here's hoping for a good story and even better readers.

-KuroiKenshiX


	10. Chapter 10: Plan of Attack

(one month after the game started, current front line floor: 1)

_Morning, town of Tolbana_

Suku raised the fork to her mouth. Her newly created plate had a stack of pancakes and several strips of bacon and sausages. As she shoveled the food down, a weary-eyed Kazeshi with disheveled hair walked down the stairs, nearly tumbling down them. He collapsed on the seat opposite Suku, and she raised an eyebrow, still chewing. "Up all night getting ready," Kazeshi yawned out. "Didn't get a lot of sleep."

She swallowed her food. "No kidding." The circles underneath his eyes were almost as black as his hair. "Well, you've got a couple of hours to wake up. We leave for the dungeon at around nine."

"Oh, perfect." The restaurant's menu appeared in front of Kazeshi and he picked randomly. A bowl of hot ramen appeared in front of Kazeshi and his exhausted face fell into the bowl. Two seconds later, he shot up, holding his now burnt face. "Hothothothothot!" His eyes were still bloodshot, but he was fully awake. "Next time, I'll use cold noodles."

Suku almost choked on her bacon. She couldn't tell if he did it on purpose or not. "Nice. You gonna eat that?" She pointed to the bowl. Kazeshi pushed it towards her and Suku began to demolish the noodles. "So, where'd you go last night?"

Kazeshi shrugged. "Met someone, then went to a blacksmith."

"Who?"

"You remember Asuna?"

Suku stopped eating. "Yeah. The girl who helped us on day one?"

Kazeshi nodded. "Right. I saw her last night so I talked to her."

She didn't respond for a few seconds. "… Oh." She dropped her napkin on her plate and the food fragmented into pixels. "She's here?"

Again, Kazeshi nodded. "Yeah. She's wearing this weird red cloak now. Uh, don't tell her I called it weird. She thought it was a good fashion choice."

Shrugging, Suku said, "It probably was. She's the type of girl who has good tastes." She eyed Kazeshi for a few seconds, and he stared back, most likely because he was too tired to move his head. "So, why'd you go to the blacksmith?"

Kazeshi averted his eyes at this. "Sorry. Can't reveal that. Classified data."

Suku could read Kazeshi when he lied or withheld information; that much was easy. She could tell he wasn't the type use to lying. But this time, he openly admitted it, which threw Suku a little off. "Uh… okay." She stood up. "I'm going to go get ready. Try to not fall asleep."

Smirking, Kazeshi said, "No promises. I hear these tables are actually really comfy." He knocked on the wood table to show he was kidding.

Rolling her eyes, Suku ascended the stairs.

_Before noon, Floor 1 Dungeon…_

On the way to the boss room, Group F was trying to concoct a strategy. The group was supposed to be long range weapons, mainly spears and javelins. However, since not many people chose to use a spear in the earlier levels, the group was much smaller than the rest. Kazeshi and Suku were put in to fill the group more, regardless of their swords.

Suku was put at the head of the group, due to her status as leader, with Kazeshi standing to her right, acting more as a bodyguard than another group member. Since Suku was in charge, all the group members looked to her for a plan. Suku instinctively looked to Kazeshi for ideas, which gave the members second thoughts. The leader was supposed to have a plan, right? Whispers began to travel through the group.

Kazeshi wasn't any help, anyway. Suku was sure he noticed her turning to him, but Kazeshi kept his eyes straight ahead. He obviously thought she was smart enough to come up with a plan. Either that or he elected her to leader just to see her squirm.

_Clear your head, Suku_, Suku thought to herself. _Let's see. If almost everyone has a spear, they'll have a disadvantage in close quarters, so…_

She turned to address her group. "Alright, here's the plan. Since Kazeshi and I are the only ones with swords, we'll fight the Kobold Sentinels head-on. Then when an opening appears, you guys try to stab the enemy as fast as you can. Don't take any unnecessary risks. We'll distract the monster so it doesn't focus too much on everyone else. If that thing gets too close, run away, otherwise it will beat your brains out. Got it?"

Maybe it was the tone she'd said it in, but everyone yelled, "Yes, ma'am!" All doubts seemed to have been cast away. That left Suku a bit surprised, but she turned to Kazeshi to see if he had reacted. He was still facing forward, but now he had a grin on his face.

_Noon, entrance to Floor 1 boss room_…

The door loomed above the players. It wasn't especially tall, but the thought of what was behind made it seem more menacing. Kazeshi stood next to Suku and looked around. The scenery had gone from a forest dungeon to a dark cave. With so many people in such a small space, he was starting to feel claustrophobic. He began to impatiently tap his foot on the ground.

Diabel walked up to the door and turned toward the anxious crowd. "Everyone, I just have one thing to say. Let's win!"

Kazeshi saw several heads around him nod. He picked out a red hood amongst the crowd that was Group E. Asuna was standing next to a guy with black hair and a blue outfit. Kazeshi was a bit jealous. Having Asuna in the group would have made him feel more protected. One more ally can hardly ever hurt.

A creaking noise distracted him from his thoughts. The doors to the boss room opened and everyone began to move inside. The first step towards freedom began.

* * *

Hello, readers. Sorry this chapter is short and not as action packed as a few previous ones. I haven't had much time to work on more chapters, but I'll try as often as I can to finish new ones. I've been thinking too far ahead in the story lately, so I'm also trying to keep my head in the present. Anyway, thank you for joining me through this adventure in SAO.


	11. Chapter 11: Alpha Beta

(one month after the game started, current front line floor: 1)

_Time unknown, Floor 1 boss room…_

As soon as the last person stepped over the threshold, the doors closed behind them, locking them in. A pair of red eyes glared at them from the other side of the room. Sitting on a throne was a two meter tall monster with glowing eyes. The creature leaped down and roared, and a name appeared above it: Illfang the Kobold Lord. Three smaller enemies in armor and carrying maces spawned around Illfang, which were labeled as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. _There's our target_, thought Kazeshi as he stared down one of the sentinels.

No sound was made for five seconds. Then the sound of swords being drawn rang through the hall. From somewhere, Kazeshi heard Diabel yell, "Commence the attack!" Group A, B and C charged towards Illfang, with Group D behind them as an extra damage group (if something happened to Group C, D would stop attacking sentinels and work as the damage group), and finally, E and F ran on either side of the boss fighting groups to defend from Ruin Kobold Sentinels flanking.

Then the battle ensued. Group F and a sentinel ran at each other. "Of course," Kazeshi said sarcastically. "We get the quick, armored enemies, and the boss is a big fat guy with nothing but cloth." He dragged his sword across the ground and held the hilt with both hands. Bloody Claymore began to glow. "X-Divide." Using the sword skill, Kazeshi blasted towards the sentinel. With his sword in his right hand, Kazeshi sliced the sentinel diagonally up to the right on his front, dashed behind it, then swung diagonally down to the left, leaving a bright "X" shape in the enemy's torso. The sentinel broke into fragments and the rest of Group F stared in awe at Kazeshi. "Focus! A new one spawns every health bar the boss losses!" As he said it, the boss groups made Illfang lose a health bar and a new sentinel spawned to face them. "Yay," Kazeshi said as he started to run.

Suku put her palm on her face. "Always enjoyed showing off, haven't you?" she murmured to herself. She pointed her sword at the sentinel and yelled, "Charge!" She ran to face the enemy with the rest of her group yelling behind her.

Kazeshi blocked as the sentinel took a swing at him with its mace. "Switch!" He jumped back as Suku stepped forward and cut the monster horizontally. The enemy still had health left and jumped in an attempt to strike at Suku, but one of the group members crouched in front of Suku as the monster brought its mace up for an overhead swing. His spear was brought up at a 60 degree angle and the sentinel impaled itself through the head as it dropped down. It dissolved into code and disappeared. Suku faced her helper. "Thanks." The soldier only nodded in response.

Kazeshi had noted that the sentinels got stronger with every health bar lowered. _Makes sense. Wouldn't be challenging or fun otherwise._ The battle began to drag out longer and the enemies got tougher. Eventually, Illfang was down to his last health bar, but there were four sentinels backing him up. Group D and Group E were able to kill the ones from Illfang's previous health bar, but Group F, having mainly slow spear users, was having trouble dealing with one.

Kazeshi and Suku were stuck working on one sentinel as the other members were facing the second. There was a loud roar throughout the hall. Kazeshi turned his head to see what was happening. Illfang had been reduced to the red zone. _Almost there, just a little_-. Kazeshi's thought was interrupted as he heard a voice.

"Back off! I'll handle this!" Diabel had rushed ahead of everyone to face Illfang.

_Idiot! What are you doing?! Stick to the plan!_ Kazeshi was about to shout at him to get back in formation, when Suku shouted.

"Kazeshi, backup needed!" Suku had her sword locked with a sentinel's mace.

As he started running, Kazeshi replied, "Right!", and then muttered to himself, "Stay focused on the task at hand." While Kazeshi was approaching Suku, he noticed another figure running toward her. The sentinel the other group members had been facing had switched targets. _Oh no you don't!_ As the second sentinel's mace was about to smash into Suku's skull, Kazeshi caught the mace on his blade. The two were caught in a trap between the two monsters, back to back.

Still locked with her sentinel, Suku glanced at Kazeshi and his complication. "This could be better. On three?"

Kazeshi didn't have to ask, he knew what she had in mind. "On three."

Suku began to push on her sword more. "Three!"

She and Kazeshi shook the enemy maces away and as the two monsters stumbled back, they both yelled, "Switch!" The pair spun in opposite semi-circles and stabbed each other's opponent, straight through the torso.

"Two left," Kazeshi counted when he heard a scream that echoed through the battlefield. He turned to see Diabel, cut nearly in half by Illfang. Kazeshi's eyes strayed to Illfang's weapon. _Why is it a no-dachi?! They changed from the beta!_ Kazeshi's leadership instincts took over as he turned to the other Group F members. "You guys work with Group E to take out the other sentinels. Group D! We're going to help take down that fat bastard!" He turned to face Suku. "You with me?"

Suku nodded. "I'm with you." The pair charged toward Illfang with Group D behind them.

When they reached the boss, Diabel had already died from the fatal wound. Two lone players were distracting Illfang as the others could regroup. Kazeshi noticed it was Asuna and her partner. As her partner got hit, Asuna was hit by his body. She got up to check on him, and Illfang took the advantage, intending to cut her down.

Kazeshi knew he wasn't going to make it in time, but he noticed another group charging towards Illfang. It was Group A, with their massive tank of a leader leading them. The guy slammed Illfang's sword away with his mace, giving Asuna's party a short break, and Kazeshi and Suku time to get to Illfang.

The no-dachi that Illfang was using made him much faster than the previous axe or even the talwar in the beta. He easily blocked Kazeshi's multiple strikes, while deflecting Suku's Anneal Blade away. As Suku attempted a stab at Illfang's stomach, the monster shoved her sword away with his, and Kazeshi saw an opening.

Intending to finish the beast with one hit, he charged up a sword skill and rushed to the monster's front. Just before his blade entered Illfang's flesh, everything around Kazeshi slowed down, but he couldn't move at all. He was stuck as everything began to move faster, and eventually, Illfang's free hand began to move. It balled into a fist and struck Kazeshi with an uppercut, sending him flying back, depleting his health to the red zone.

"Kaz!" Suku yelled and ran to his side. As she fumbled through her inventory for a health potion, Kazeshi noticed a shadow moving toward Suku. It was one of the last Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Group E and F were occupied with the other, due to the increased tenacity of the smaller enemies.

The Kobold Sentinel swung its mace back for a swing, preparing to knock Suku's brains out of her skull. Kazeshi entered his inventory and selected two objects. Bloody Claymore disappeared from his grasp, and the first one materialized on his left wrist. It was a meter-long ellipse shield, shaped from a turtle shell, with a grappling claw on the top, a four pronged bird's foot. He jumped up, ran around Suku and deflected the mace with the shield. Then he quickly brought it back and punched the sentinel with the edge of the shield, sending the beast staggering back a few feet. The second item was starting to materialize in his right hand as Kazeshi aimed the claw towards the Kobold Sentinel. The claw fired, grabbed the helmet of the sentinel, tearing the metal with its sharp talons. Kazeshi pulled back and the attached rope forced the creature towards him. He held the second item, a dagger, in his right hand in a reverse grip, with the point directly turned toward the sentinel's throat. The sentinel tripped onto the knife point and its neck was torn apart by the dagger. As the enemy was terminated, Kazeshi knelt down, trying to catch his breath.

After the small shock Suku had entered, she ran to Kazeshi with a health potion. "Here," she said as she offered the vial to him.

But Kazeshi just shook his head. "No need. Look." He pointed to the center of the area. Asuna and her partner had gotten back into the fight, and the battle ended quickly as Asuna's partner knocked Illfang's sword away, Asuna stabbed Illfang, then the partner slashed down on Illfang once, and finished it by slicing Illfang nearly in half. The first floor was over, and after stunned silence, the cheering roared through the hall, and Kazeshi knew that the sound would never die from the room, even after they left.

The cheering was brought to an abrupt end as someone screamed, "Why?!"

Everyone turned to the speaker. It was Kibaou."Why did you let Diabel die?!" Kazeshi turned to see who he was directing the accusation towards. It was Asuna's partner. "You knew the boss's fight patterns and didn't tell us! You let Diabel get killed when you could have stopped it!"

Kazeshi heard someone in Kibaou's crowd say, "He's a beta tester! There must be others around here that are! Show yourselves!" The effect that these accusations were making was unbelievable. All the players in the hall were spinning around, trying to pinpoint the betas.

As he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, Kazeshi began to walk towards Kibaou. Whether he was going to say that that Illfang wasn't in the beta, or say that the 2000 that died could have been most of the beta testers, or simply knock the bastard flat on the ground, he didn't know. But he knew that someone had to do something. That was when he felt a hand on his wrist. He turned to see Suku holding on to his arm. But what he really focused on were her eyes. They showed… fright? She looked like she was on the verge of crying.

Kazeshi was about to shake his arm free, when a noise filled the room. It was laughter. And it was coming from Asuna's partner. _Has he gone insane?_ Kazeshi thought.

The partner stood up and faced Kibaou. "A beta tester, huh? Don't ever compare me to those newbies." He began to slowly gait over to Kibaou. "Those guys could hardly level up. You guys are much better than them."

By this time, Kazeshi understood what the kid was doing. He was trying to distract the attention from the beta testers to himself, acting like a martyr. "The reason I knew the boss's attack pattern was because I had fought enemies just like it on the higher levels. I got the highest over everyone during the beta. No one knows more about this game than me, no other player, not even an info broker."

Stricken couldn't even describe the look on Kibaou's face. What he wore was fear. "That's… that's not possible! You're even worse! You're a cheater!"

This created murmuring throughout everyone, and Kazeshi heard the word "beater" muttered among it. Asuna's partner did as well apparently, as he said, "Beater, huh? I like it. That's right, I am a beater, so don't ever confuse me with the other testers." He equipped a black coat, then walked toward the exit. But before he got to the door, Kazeshi caught a look at his face. His eyes widened in surprise. _Never thought I'd see you again._ He opened up his menu and sent a short e-mail to the partner, along with a friend request. When he sent the request, he saw the name of the partner. _Kirito. So that's what you're calling yourself now. _Kirito didn't react to a request and kept walking. _Of course. Got to keep up the image of the badass who walks away silently from the battle._

Asuna was the first to move, and she followed after Kirito. They exchanged some words at the top of the staircase, then Kirito entered the second floor.

Nobody moved for the next moment, as they stared after the swordsman in black. Kazeshi was the first to advance towards the door, followed by Suku, and then the rest of Group F as it untangled itself from the raid group. Asuna was still at the top of the steps when Kazeshi walked beside her. "That's enough time for him to disappear. Come on. Let's go."

Asuna looked surprised as she turned to Kazeshi. She eventually smiled and nodded. The two and Suku walked through the doors and emerged in the second floor town. _Just you wait, Kayaba. We're finally advancing toward you and your stupid game ending. And I hope you're ready to get cut down when that happens._

To: Kirito

_I told you I like to remember who I owe, right?_

From: Kazeshi

* * *

To those who are still reading this story, thank you. I'm sorry, I know I haven't put anything up for a long time. School's been killing me. I'm also very sorry about the battle and conversation afterwards. I didn't want to copy the anime exactly, so I probably screwed up the feel of everything. I'll also explain about the shield in the next chapter, hopefully. Anyway, thank you for staying so loyal through this annoying break in activity, and I hope to give out more content as soon as I can.

P.S. And yes, I know that "Alpha Beta" is an old grocery store company.


	12. Chapter 115: Promise Not Forgotten

(one month after the game started, current front line floor: 2)

_After the boss room fight on floor 1…_

"Here." Kazeshi was extending the shield with the falcon claw out to Suku. She looked uncertainly at it. "Go on, take it. I told you I'd give it to you, didn't I?" A quizzical look began to settle on Suku's face. Kazeshi felt relieved. "Thank goodness. I was afraid I was the only one to forget. Remember when I first showed you the ropes?"

Suku thought back. "You mean when we were hunting the fields for items, especially a…" She cut off her sentence, realizing how oblivious she was acting. "Wait, so this is…?"

"Yep. Told you I'd make you one. And it's exactly one month. How cool is that?" Kazeshi placed the shield in Suku's arms.

Shocked that he had remembered the promise, Suku popped the window on the shield. The stats were unbelievably high for first floor equipment. "How did you make it this well?! Did you go to a merchant?"

Slowly shaking his head, Kazeshi said, "Check my skills menu."

Suku opened up a window and went to Kazeshi's profile. She clicked on the skills menu and scanned the contents. Most of the skills were empty, as normal for second floor skills, but the ones he had filled in were too high for second floor. Among them was blacksmithing. "But, you don't have enough skill points to-" She had spotted Kazeshi's level. She was level 11, as it was recommended to be 10 levels higher than the floor to fight in a boss room. Kazeshi was level 20. "When did you do that?! I was always with you when you went out fighting!"

Kazeshi rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I knew that I needed to level up faster to keep up with the changes from the beta, so I've been out leveling at night."

Needless to say, Suku was angry, but it wasn't because he would have gotten better loot. It was because he could have died and she wouldn't have been able to do a thing. "You've been putting yourself in danger like that, and you never told me?!"

Realizing this was probably going to start getting explosive, Kazeshi tried to justify his actions. "Well, you always complain about how much sleep we need, and I don't tire as easily. I'm used to late night gaming, so it didn't start bothering me until this morning."

Suku flashed back to the scene she had seen that morning, with Kazeshi nearly tumbling down the stairs and dropping his head in his food. That didn't quell her rage though. "If you ever do that again, at least tell me. Otherwise, if the monsters don't kill you, I will. Understand?"

Kazeshi thought he saw flames in her eyes and began to back away sweating. "Right, I got it," he tried to say calmly, but not quite pulling it off.

"I said, 'UNDERSTAND?'" Suku was beginning to scare Kazeshi.

He put his hand to his forehead in what looked like a salute and said, "Yes! Yes, ma'am! Spare me!"

Suku calmed down about as quickly as she flared up and said, "Good." She walked away carrying the shield.

Kazeshi sighed in relief.

Before she could put the shield away, Suku looked at its name. "_The Best Defense," huh?_ She returned it to her inventory and began to explore the town.

* * *

Just thought I should put a short chapter out on the shield. In case anyone doesn't understand the name, the shield's name is based off the saying, "The best defense is a good offense," mainly because of the grappling claw. And I've gotten to thinking about much later in the series. I may have more series based around these characters and set in other VRMMORPGs, so let's hope it goes that far as a story.


End file.
